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Kevin Warren: “This will be become the epicenter of sports, entertainment, technology, health and wellness. People around the world are already talking about this. So to stand before you today, I’m honored as a Minnesotan to be proud to say, again – we did it at U.S. Bank Stadium – and we’re going to do it here again to build the best headquarters environment in all of professional sports. This is something that is very unique. To be in a position to do something cutting edge in this environment in professional sports is incredibly, incredibly unique.”

Mark Wilf: “The facility is going to provide much-need modernization and upgrades that set the pace in the NFL and are critical in recruiting and retaining future players.”

The words state-of-the-art get thrown around a lot, but this facility is deserving of that title. Just to name a few of the technological upgrades: The practice fields will be wired so tape can immediately be sent from the field to the film room, two fields will be heated for outdoor winter practices, the Vikings will have a year-round draft “war room,” the team will have an auditorium for film sessions, plus hydrotherapy, recovery and “speed” rooms.

The total development in Eagan includes more than just a football compound. The plan is to also include a hotel and conference center plus apartments and housing. That means it will be possible for Vikings players to live where they work and, the team hopes, will result in players staying year round to work out in Minnesota even if they usually workout elsewhere. Twin Cities Orthopedics also will open two new buildings on the property.

Matt Vensel, of the Star Tribune: "Having visited a handful of NFL facilities in my time covering the Vikings and previously the Ravens, I feel comfortable saying that when the TCO Performance Center opens next year, it will be one of the top facilities in the NFL. It will be modern and beautiful and will perhaps inspire awe."

A decade from now, when the Minnesota Vikings' 2027 first-round pick wakes up in his new home, he'll be able to walk on tree-lined streets and around a lake on his way to work. If he needs to work with a rehab specialist on a nagging injury -- or meet with a personal trainer in the offseason -- he can make a quick trip over to Twin Cities Orthopedics' two buildings adjacent to the team's practice facility, while passing by the team's Hall of Fame and envisioning his name one day listed alongside Vikings greats like Alan Page and Randy Moss.

That afternoon, he can walk to find lunch, or possibly do some shopping. And then, he can stroll along another set of trails on his way home.

The Vikings' new 40-acre practice facility and team headquarters -- the TCO Performance Center -- is scheduled to open next March, but it will be merely the tip of the spear of what the Vikings have planned for their new complex in Eagan, Minnesota. The team purchased nearly 200 acres of land, on the site of the former Northwest Airlines corporate headquarters, and plans to develop a hotel, conference space, residential areas and retail over the next 10-15 years.

The "Viking Lakes" development, which sits in a leafy suburb 16 miles southeast of downtown Minneapolis, will continue a building boom that began with U.S. Bank Stadium's opening last year. It will consolidate the team's operations -- currently located in five buildings between downtown Minneapolis and the Vikings' current headquarters in Eden Prairie, Minnesota -- under one roof for the first time since the Wilf family bought the team in 2005.

Agreed. But, it's still pretty disappointing. I like the fact that the team has gone "away" from the facility for training camp.

I've been on both sides. I was in Seattle at the time when they were still holding their camp at Eastern Washington over on the other side of the state and everyone there was kind of disappointed when they moved it back to the Seattle suburbs.

I also happened to be here when the Chiefs moved the camp from River Falls to a town just outside of the KC metro and actually people were a little more happy since River Falls was so far away. But, if I were a Chiefs fan, I'd almost prefer that now, with the Rams out of the picture in St. Louis, to see them move the camp more towards the center of Missouri, as despite what many teams do say, I think it is good for teams to get away from all the hub-bub of the metro areas where the teams are located.

So, while I understand the move and certainly expected it...if they would have moved it from Mankato, I almost would have preferred that they move it to UMD or North Dakota State than keep it at the facility._________________